The biggest news out of this week’s primary elections in five states across the U.S., including Virginia, came from Falls Church’s own rep, Don Beyer, who told the News-Press in an exclusive interview yesterday that, based on Tuesday’s primary results, the list of potential gains for Democrats in the upcoming midterm election has grown to over 50.
There is a primary list of more than two dozen House races that Democrats have targeted to flip in November and Beyer told the News-Press that he was scheduled to be on a conference call with most of those candidates late yesterday. Democratic nominee in the 2nd district of Virginia, former Congresswoman and retired Navy commander Elaine Luria, was due to be on that call, Henrico County prosecutor Shannon Taylor and maybe also former Congressman Tom Perriello, whose strong showing in the fifth district primary may have convinced enough people that he could make a serious bid to flip that seat in November.
As for Beyer, he won his primary handily Tuesday with 67 percent of the vote, including 75 percent in Falls Church where the turnout was 13 percent, which was expected because of the change in the voting date from June.
But this time Beyer faced four opponents and he said he had to run a full-throttle race to ensure his win. The greater than usual opposition was due to a combination of factors, including the push to redistrict the congressional boundaries in the state, which was approved by voters but rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court this spring. It caused the primary date change from June, and had Beyer being relocated out of his traditional base. The other factor was the general surge of anti-establishment sentiment among Democrats.
Beyer’s vote total was 39,714 for 67.6 percent of the total with an overall nine percent turnout. Mo Seifeldein came in a very distant second at 17 percent and Adam Dunigan third at nine percent. Of the four jurisdictions in the 8th District (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church), Beyer garnered his highest percentage in Falls Church at 75.2 percent.
“I wish everywhere could be like Falls Church,” the congressman quipped to the News-Press Wednesday morning.
He said he is getting to work on legislation that he thinks a new Democratic majority in the House will enable passing, which he said is in two tranches, those which are certain to pass and others less likely but with a decent chance. He said there is a third more aspirational tranche that involves longer term goals going to more fundamental electoral reforms, like ranked choice voting, which so far is limited to some local races.
He said he is heartened by the focus of possible presidential contender Pete Buttegieg, who he backed during a brief presidential bid in 2024 and has suggested he might run again, who backs ranked choice voting, eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a national one-person, one-vote alternative, and an expansion of the Supreme Court.
In addition to the second and fifth districts in Virginia, the other one targeted by Democrats for a flip is the first district around Richmond, where Shannon Taylor prevailed in a crowded seven-person primary Tuesday. She has served as the commonwealth attorney for 14 years in Henrico County and is known as a tough on crime. She “has tried thousands of cases and put violent criminals, drug traffickers and abusers behind bars, according to her website. “She pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and worked alongside law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets.”
In reaction to GOP moves to redistrict in places like Texas and Florida, the Democrats in Virginia fought back with a redistricting effort of their own backed by voters that could have turned 10 of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts Democratic. But while the court ruling nixed that idea, the party is still optimistic it can gain a substantial majority of eight of the 11 districts.
